NEW YORK — Jury selection is set to begin Monday in the high-stakes federal trial of music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs, marking a dramatic fall from grace for the 55-year-old hip-hop icon. Once a mainstay at celebrity galas like the Met Gala — which also falls on the first Monday in May — Combs will instead spend the day inside a downtown Manhattan courtroom as the first step in his sex trafficking and racketeering trial gets underway.
Combs, who has pleaded not guilty to all charges, is accused of orchestrating a criminal enterprise that allegedly lured victims into drug-fueled sex parties using threats and violence. Federal prosecutors say the scheme, described in court documents as involving so-called “freak-offs,” featured coercion, abuse, and secret recordings.
The trial promises to be one of the most closely watched in recent memory, with opening statements expected as early as May 12. If convicted, Combs faces the possibility of life in prison.
Held without bail since his arrest in September 2024, Combs remains at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center, a facility known for overcrowding and poor conditions. Once hailed for helping bring hip-hop into the mainstream and for his multimillion-dollar ventures in music, fashion, and liquor, Combs now faces a federal indictment under the RICO statute — a tool traditionally used against organized crime.
At the heart of the case is Combs’s former girlfriend, singer Casandra “Cassie” Ventura, whose 2023 civil lawsuit — settled quickly out of court — sparked a wave of new accusations and ultimately led to the criminal charges. Prosecutors say a disturbing 2016 surveillance video of Combs assaulting Ventura will be part of the evidence presented to jurors.
Combs’s attorney, Marc Agnifilo, has framed the defense around the entertainer’s admitted but consensual “swinger lifestyle,” dismissing allegations of coercion and abuse. Prosecutors revealed they offered Combs a plea deal — details of which remain sealed — but the offer was declined.
The use of the RICO statute in this case mirrors the government’s successful prosecution of R&B singer R. Kelly in 2021, suggesting a broader reckoning may be looming for the music industry, which has largely sidestepped the #MeToo movement’s impact.
Once known as Puff Daddy, P. Diddy, and later just Diddy, Combs now faces a jury of everyday New Yorkers who will weigh the most serious charges of his life — a stark contrast to his decades as one of entertainment’s most celebrated figures.
Jury selection is expected to last about a week.
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